about the 20 the anniversary of the family and medical leave act. "washington journal is live at 7:00 on c-span. >> former president bill clinton speaks to a gathering of house democrats. john kerry meets with the canadian foreign minister. and military farewell for outgoing defense secretary leon panetta -- leon panetta. >> former president bill clinton discussed the issues of jobs, immigration, health care, and gun control. he is introduced by steny hoyer. >> i understand the next speaker does not need an introduction. but then i would not have anything to say.

so you know -- thank you, thank you, thank you. for over 20 years, bill clinton has been a determined evangelist for the american dream. the voters of this country puts him in the white house twice. not only because he understands what the american dream is all about, but because he also has a gift for explaining why our party is so committed to defending and promoting the dream. during his eight years as president, he oversaw record job growth, at 22.7 million jobs created. he also became the first president to balance the budget for years in a row. the stock market went up 226%. it went down 25% under george bush. the years of his presidency were a time when our middle-class

felt secure. it was a time when our economy credences stained opportunities for more people to afford college. -- created opportunities for more people to afford college. i have supported a constitutional amendment to repeal the 22nd amendment, which says that people cannot reelect a president for a third term. the chairman of the judiciary committee co-sponsored back with me. he was an opponent of term limits. i went up to him after the election and said henry, i'm going to put that bill and again. he said fine. on tuesday, we came back. henry was sitting on one of the seats. he said, i do not want you to put my name on that bill.

henry, you have co-sponsored this for five congresses. i discussed it with my staff and they say if we pass that amendment, bill clinton may be reelected. a few days later, he asked me to take -- when i asked him why, he told me. it was a reflection of the respect and fear they have about bill clinton. he has continued to set his sights on service. after eight years in office, he had seen the terrible effects of poverty and illness of those living in the developing world. in launching the clinton global initiative, he contended to widen the constellation of challenges in which she has applied is extraordinary talents and energy. limits on religious freedom, at every impediment to life,

liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. after president of the united states, he could only become president of the world. the praise the respect he receives from both sides of the aisle as big volumes about his character. the man he defeated, former president george h. w. bush said, if clinton were the titanic, the iceberg would of song. -- have sunk. it has less to do with this sharp political acumen and more to do with his deeply held values and ideals. bill clinton believes in an america that is tied in a single garment of destiny. our fates are bound together and we should work together. a man from hope continues to

work to give hope to millions. bill clinton has taught us that all hope is a powerful motivator, it takes more than that to build the future we dream of. as we revitalize our discussion about how to renew the american dream, i ask you to join me in welcoming a great proponent of the american dream who has lived the dream and let our country and leads today, the honorable william jefferson clinton. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you.

thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. >> we miss you. >> thank you. sometimes, i miss you. [laughter] most of the time, i like what i am doing. i want to thank steny the introduction. we talked a few days ago when he said, what do you want me to say? i said, tell them you like playing golf with me. and that you did not throw the games. i want to congratulate and thank nancy pelosi for her tireless efforts in the last election

cycle and all of your leadership. thank you, joe kelly, my fellow new yorker. i am stand she had to leave, but i was always reassured to see her on television when i was worried about the outcome. i want to thank steve israel, who i think has been one of the most thoughtful people in the house and you proved once again -- and who proved once again that if you really want to be successful in the long run in this business, you have to be good politics and policy. you have to think about what we're going to do and how will affect people. i have the honor of campaigning

for a lot of you in the last election. i am very excited about the new members. [applause] not only because if i were a member of this caucus, i would be in the minority, which i think is a good thing, but because the diversity extends far beyond the categories visible to the eye or that you can put in an adjective. there's so much difference here in terms of life experience and knowledge and understanding the various aspects of are extremely complex society that i think he'll have a real chance to do some phenomenally creative and effective things. a few years ago, a writer wrote

an interesting book called the wisdom of crowds. since then, international surveys of how the brain works. if you took a room and you put in this room 20 or 25 people of average intelligence who cared about a set of problems and you put in another room a genius with a 200 iq and you kept feeding them questions and problems, over time, the crowd would make a better decisions than a genius. it is one of the reasons that we should be supporting diversity to build unity, the old harmony, build a better future. it is one of the reasons that i

think where our party is and what we are trying to do so important. i want to offer a few observations about this. i went through both the last few election cycles. i remember i told hillary summer in the process, we are going to take a terrible licking. i said, i do not want this semiconscious. -- conscience. i would like to talk about what this means for all d.o.. i read the president's remarks and i was very appreciative of what he said and i know vice- president biden was here.

i want you to think about what you were going to do the next two years, where you want to end up, and how this is a part of a long-term struggle. people sometimes ask me if i'd was upset when the whole pattern of budgets i tried to establish was repealed after president bush won and the congress went back to tripled downgraded trickle-down economics. he have to understand, nothing is permanent. it is an ongoing enterprise. one of the oscar-nominated movies lincoln is one -- is about one of the most important areas of history. the heroic battle to pass the

13th amendment banning slavery. if you ask most americans about lincoln, i know he was the present during the civil war. he was assassinated, he issued the emancipation proclamation. they know about the gettysburg address. that is about it. maybe they know the second inaugural address -- the finest inaugural address ever given. almost nobody knows the story of the 13th amendment. most americans do not even know the emancipation proclamation could only free the slaves and the southern states that have succeeded -- seceded. almost nobody knows why he decided to try to get it through congress when if he had waited until after he was inaugurated, it would have been much easier to pass. he was mortified by the fact that he could not 70 -- did 75% of the states to ratify the amendment.

he practiced politics. what you are doing is a noble thing, but everybody will be watching. if you were doing that, there will be live coverage around the clock. we would all notes, but will be understand it? it requires us to maintain a level of a direct relationships with the voters that in former times was mediated by the way politicians related to leaders and newspaper editors and other things. i would like to talk about this. the last election was an election mid-american people chose an inclusive future. they also for pretty savvy. they decided they believed in arithmetic after all and they

did not like it when somebody said we will do this and we will give you all these tax cuts and then when asked about what it meant and how we can pay for it, they said, a senior about that after the election. that was a good thing. and they voted against going back on a lot of what we had done. make no mistake about it, this is not just about appealing obamacare and repealing much of what i did. this is about repealing much of the 20th century. somebody asked me, why are you doing next? i am too old to relitigate the things i thought had been settled in the 1960's and 1970's. [applause] i want us to worry about the

21st century and how to make the most of it. i believe that we are in an interesting and delegates and paradoxical the dish -- position. if we are clear about where we are and what we have the d.o.. -- what we have to do. there was a brief period at the end of the cold where were the united states was the only military, economic, and political superpower. i did my best to prepare us for an era in which we would still be the leading country in the world, but which others would enjoy on president and

prosperity and once that happened, whether we really only military superpower was a question of how they decided to spend their money. and whether we reveal a political superpower was a question of how they decided to spend their diplomacy. we're going to live in a more competitive world. what of the challenges all of you will face is that americans of almost all political stripes have been notoriously resistant to arguments based on what our competitors are doing. health care, economic policy, education policy, you name it. it is really interesting for a country that is so sports crazy because i can see harbaugh

brother is getting ready for the super bowl, examining what every single player was doing and trying to figure out where the weaknesses were. we're going to have to get more comfortable being honest about the results the competition gets from doing x, y, and z. we led the world in the development of widespread usage of cell phones, but now on a national basis, south korea is about -- and a lot speeds are four times as ours. communities are increasing their capacity. chattanooga, tenn., did and now they're becoming and health care center. google is spending all of that money in kansas city. we have got to be more comfortable in talking to people

about what works. what is working that other countries are doing. the diversity of the representation in the house will be helpful for that. i think also we have to learn something from how historic brave actions by your predecessors in this caucus played out in the electorate. when were they rewarded? when were they punished? and later rewarded? i cannot tell you how many nights in the white house, every

single night before i went to bed, four months and months and months after the 1994 election, i thought about the people who were defeated because they voted for the economic program, because they voted for the assault weapons ban. i knew exactly what happened. i thought a lot about those who survived and why they did. as you look ahead and you decide, what are we going to do about the budget, what are we going to do about having the democrats branded as the party of jobs and innovation for the future? make no mistake about it, the republicans will try very hard not to make it as easy for you to win by-reference. there were some places where we won because people saw what they wanted to do when they did not like it. all of you sounded better.

we now are going to have to have an affirmative agenda for jobs and innovation. [applause] you have got to do it. it is important to do immigration right. and to do it as soon as possible. i think it is important to take some action now that it is possible on the issue of gun violence, but it is important to do a right. i could go across america if we had time and tell you who survived very well voting for the assault weapons ban and the brady bill in 1993 and 1994, and who did not. and why. i want to say allow that. -- a little about that. but i think we should us in going forward -- a symbol and

for that the people who disagree with us will not make it quite as easy to draw the contrast by the things they do and say as they did last time. that is the message i got out of the house republican meeting. we're going to put on a happy face. it is easy to sneer at that, but depending on how you navigate troubled waters, and supporting the president's agenda in developing what i hope you will do, at your own ideas how to promote jobs and innovation and tried to win support, it is important to recognize that we have never -- except in the

searing moment of the debates in presidential elections -- or the average you did every year for the state of the union -- or the average you get every year for the state of the union, general images over a specific moments and a strategy of theirs is not necessarily guarantee to fail. there are lots of things we can talk about on the politics. i want to talk about the substance. you were elected because people thought you were a better candidate. because you had a message people believed gen. because you ran a political culture that would least except you as a potential member of congress -- accept you as a potential member of congress. people did not blame our party

for the conditions they face today did not like. i think the most important thing is this is a job. it is a job. keeping it requires you to do its and to sell its simultaneously. it is normally harder at midterms because it is more difficult to draw the contrast in a way favorable to you and because the turnout goes down. we will talk more about that later. let's focus on the job. here is the dilemma. we do have a long term the debt problem. that does not mean austerity is the right response. i know -- i do not know what she

said, but she is an impressive person. here is the problem. by paul krugman is right that you cannot be deceived by what he is right about. when interest rates are below inflation, that tells you there is insufficient demand for money. therefore, you have to keep poking at the economy to get it going again. since the republicans won the house, the federal reserve has tried to fulfill that role and put more money in the economy because they always like austerity when democrats are president. that sounds more cynical than it is. but like to spend taxpayer money on things we think our

investment in the future. did you like to spend taxpayer money on tax cuts and defense programs they think are okay. their position to decide the debt was the worst problem in the world's, it is highly determined by who is in the white house. as all the know. -- as all of you know. we have a big debt problem and it cannot be solved right now by conventional austerity measures. that is why paul coughlin is right when he keeps talking about -- paul krugman is right. you give in to the downward spiral and travel the country

back into recession. -- dragged the country back into recession. we need a jobs program. i will not go into -- i have a lot of ideas on how you can do it. we need a strategy to promote innovation, started businesses coming keep the manufacturing sector expanding combat repatriate and bring back investment in america, money that is the overseas. i personally would favor letting a lot of that money be brought back if a certain as a percentage of the was investing in infrastructure bank in america. [applause] the rate of return on the infrastructure is so high, including a i.t. infrastructure, you could sell the investments like you would bonds. i will give you 6% tax-free rate

of return if you invest here. if you could get some of that repatriated money invested, a lot of pension funds would invest and a lot look good looking for higher returns they can get in any conventional bond issue, but have to have solid guaranteed returns. i think we could do a lot of this stuff, but you need a program to do this. i remember i did unavenged for congressman delaney -- i did an event for congressman delaney and i called our mutual friend. he said more in five minutes about how to create jobs and i have heard anybody say in this campaign so far. people were listening. i think is really important --

we are not and the majority and they will not do that. when i left office, one of my regrets was that i did not raise more sand about things i thought should be done because i did not want to waste any time talking about things i knew we could not pass the congress. i had this amazing argument once in the white house with chairman greenspan. about the position financial derivatives did not need to be regulated like agricultural commodities were. only rich people could buy them and they were fully capable of making those judgments. if you did not have any capital requirement and transparency requirements, no class of people is immune from error, ignorance or foolishness. if it all -- a future not to be

wrong, the consequences could be grievous. at the time, the republican majority did not want to find a the sec. they were exercising their oversight function. i did not say as much in public as item private because i was trying to get a lot done. i later tried -- came to regret that. sometimes start in the debates are important. we need an economic strategy. if you do not have growth, you cannot fix the debt problem. if you look at what is happening, it is true that the deficits are going to be below a trillion dollars for the first time in several years. it is true that the new revenues and spending that you did not do -- it is also true the economy is beginning to grow again. this is almost like the reverse of what we did in 1993.

i was perfectly well aware that a raise taxes and cut spending, it could have been dragging effect on the economy. but not nearly as much as not nearly as much as having low growth or then having interest rates that were too high. so our gamble was that the explosive effect of lowing interest rates with a booming bond market and having more disposal income over five-10 year period to invest in america's future would more than offset putting the hammer down by raising more money and cutting spending. it turned out to be a good gamble. it will make sense here again. but timing is everything.

so i think you should have a budget that does not defy arithmetic and does not follow in the trap that we had for 20 of the last 32 years which is you always get more money when you cut taxes. but it is also important that we recognize if there is literally no growth you dope get many revenues anyway. -- don't get many revenues anyway. what we need is a jobs program with all of its elements and a longer-term plan to bring the debt down that action set rates as growth picks up. yesterday, there was this little chart in "u.s.a. today," for example it said budget break

down slated for -- defense 18 and interest on the debt 7. the only reason that is seven is because interest rates are so low. if interest rates were what they were when i was president, that number would be 15. where would you get the other eight? where would you get the other eight? >> that is why you need a long-term plan. you don't want it to go to 15 overnight. you want to put the brakes on it, do it gradually and work it down. we need to put jobs and income front and center. invow vacations for future growth but we need a plan for that. i think that is important. the other thing i would like to say is that today primarily with the executive branch but

something that you have to watch. we democrats own the health reform issue now. i personally think it was the best bill you could have passed in the congress with the circumstances given, the filibuster problem in the senate. i think we were always going to pass the harbg reform health care reform. there's a lot of good things in that bill. it really matters how it is implemented. if certain problems come up that need changing you need to get caught trying to change them even if you can't pass it. because we have to do this right . we can't keep spending at 17.8%

income on health care and nonof our competitors above 11.8. we can't afford it. we just can't do it. i think it is very important to identify those areas -- you saw that study about a third of the money was wasted but it could be saved without compromising health care at palm we should try to incentivize better decisions on the bart of citizens so we can -- on the part of citizens so we don't spend a lot of money on sickness. i urge you not to walk away from this issue because a bill was passed. the implementation of this bill and getting our income closer to

that have of our major competitors that have beth health outcome than we do. if you look at pennsylvania, every year under state law publishes the cost of certain services, surgeries, and publishes the outcome by hospital. it is clear every single year there is no connection between the price paid and the result achieved even within pennsylvania, which is a large state with a significant amount of diversity and, therefore, good enough for us to learn from. stay with this. make it work. prove we were right to do it. it had to be done. one of the reasons that medium family income before the crash was lower than it was the day i left office after inflation is that so many employers wanted to

give their employees pay increases had to spend it on their health care prep combrums instead. -- premiums instead. i think it is important. it will be important long-term to balancing the budget. i don't have an answer to this problem, but i wish we could do is not permit it under budget rules. as all of you know the republican answer on all the health care issues, including medicaid and medicare is get it off the books. give it to the states. end the budget problem. privatize a lot of medicare. end the budget problem. the problem is they are proposing people to take the

less expensive and throw them into a more expensive system and the market will make the more expensive less expensive. all it does is clean up the government books. i get that. but our problem coming back is we can't scorle now what will be the end result of changing the whole payment system for example. paying for performance instead of procedure which i think has to be done. all of these things that has to be done are not necessarily scoreable. i don't know how you're going to do this. but i think this will be very important. it is the sort of lumbering underneath the radar economic issue as well as the health care issue that i think there plenty of people in this caucus that are knowledgeable enough, creative enough to know what to

do about it. let me mention two other things. i believe that we will get immigration reform for all the reasons that everyone has pointed out and i think it is a good thing. i world like to point out, i would be as forward leaning on this issue for any number of reasons. i read a piece the other day that said there is now a standing annual demand in america for 120,000 with computer science degrees and despite the fact that you have college grads driving cabs you only have 40,000 with computer science degrees every year. until we find out how to close that, that and the general stem gap, we should have immigration to help. i would give every college graduate in america that comes from another country whatever incentive i had to let them stay

here and work until we have solved these problems. that's what i would do. [applause] the irony of our electing all these children of immigrants to congress and letting everyone tell their story is there are several countries that have developed economies, including australia and canada. they have a higher percentage of their police station -- population than immigrants than we do. we're back to where germany is because of all this. we need to work it through and again, details matter, but i think it is really, really important to do it and do it right. the last thing i would like to

say is it is obvious as a political strategy that it is very much in the interest of our party and the values and the programs and the directions that we believe in to make the electorate to look like in the previous years. i think that is obvious. i also think we should not rely on demography alone. begin a conversation with people who are not as extreme as a lot of candidates they voted for in the republican party that we can get to be for us. and i see this whole gun issue as an opportunity not a toxic landmine. but it depends on how you do it.

one thing that disturbed me when i was here serving that i saw carried forward and manifested in 2010 in some of the elections is, we've had too many people who consult with us and tell us how to do things. they do polls and here's the five things that you did and four of them is really popular and this is a hot issue to so talk about one through four. just think about that. would there be a successful marriage that took that position? would there be a successful business enterprise or sports team or any other kind of relationship that depends on trust if you took that position? in my state of arkansas we call

that walking into someone's living room and seeing a huge pink elephant and you don't get far by telling them how pretty the sofa is. that is wrong. if you're going to stir up the storm over immigration, health care, taking up easier access to the polls a priority, if you're going to do these things you have to alternative into them, not away from them. you cannot assume that people -- oh, that is not my demographic, i have nothing to say to them and they have nothing to say to us. one example, i went home to arkansas.

there were hundreds in this group, about 70 had passed away since we started this even but one of the people was this unbelievable old-fashioned democrat. he came up to me, he looked at me and says don't let them blow this gun debate bill. i thought he was going to say, you know, i've been effective like everyone else by all this propaganda. we got to do this. we got to do something on this. this is not responsible. he says no, i'm not talking about this. he lived in a town of 1,300 and it is the biggest town in the county. it is not our demographic. but he said i got a friend that owns dozens and dozens of guns and wished he owns more.

he's a collector, he has more guns than anybody you know. i don't get this stuff in washington. he said, i don't know how anybody could be against doing a background on everybody who buys a gun. if i get them from a gun show i ought to do a background check. i will tell you something else he said, you can't walk through my house without stepping over the guns. i don't need more than 10 bullets in an ammunition clip. he says my point is if you walked into this house you would say let me get out of here without getting shot. it is important to turn -- not to give up on anybody, talk to them. the worst that can happen is people say we're not crazy, all

these people sage you're trying to end the rights to second amendment then may listen to you on the four thing where is they do agree with you. but they can't hear the four things if they don't know where you are on the fifth issue, whatever it is but in this case i'm talking about guns. that's the only political advice i want to give you. you start up the storm with the health care thing, explain it and make sure it works. don't let it go because it is in law and it is someone else's problem. it is also a complicated issue. you may need to change it. the same thing is true in this gun debate. i think we ought to stay with this issue but you can do it in a way that recognizes that people are out there that are not supposed to be our demographic but they are

thinking about this too. they are not making a living as part of a washington lobby group. they were sick when these children were killed. a lot of people where i grew up were asking themselves, if that young man had to load three times as often as he did would all those children have been killed? people, out in the country make a living -- this is a big part of their lives and ask question, could anything be done? what about any other place where more than a few people were killed? they are more likely to figure out the answer to that than most of us who don't live with this every day. so turn into this. treat these people as our friends, our neighbor, people we share our country with.

i think you got a great opportunity. look, the country is thriving because we are diverse, we have a great technology base, we have a great research base, we still have immense advantages. i think we're going to be fine. we have to learn to compare ourself with the competition that is not threatening, not negative. we have to have a jobs agenda that is affordable and realistic. we need a 10 year plan. when interest rates you're going to have imposed austerity because we can't stay with the debt this big at reasonable interest rates. do it all in the same spirit that you took out there in this last election. i think you're going to be fine. it is a great time to be in public service. there is no reason to be negative about the future.

now that you won this race in large measure on what have the american people did not want, we have to create a future that they do want. thank you very much. [applause] >> on the next "washington journal" a look at the automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect march 1. half of the cuts are expected to come from the pentagon. a conversation about the government's use of lethal force against suspected terrorists. our guest is christopher anders. then we'll talk with judith for

the national partnership. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> having observed a steady improvement in the opportunities and well being of our citizens, i can report to you that the state of this youthful union is good. >> once again with keeping with time honored tradition i come to report to you on the state of the union. i'm pleased to report that america is much improved and there is good reason to believe that improve will continue. >> my duty tonight is to report on the state of the union. not the state of your government but of your american community and set forth our responsibilities in the words of our founders to form a more perfect union. the state of the union is

strong. >> as we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers, yet the state of our union has never been stronger. >> it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journal goes forward, and the state of your union is strong. >> tuesday, president obama delivers this year's address live on c-span with the programs starting at 8:00 with the president at 9:00. the state of the union tuesday night on c-span. >> secretary of state john kerry had his first meeting with the foreign meeting with john baird. after their closed door session they spoke to reporters.

this is 20 minutes. >> good afternoon. it is my great pleasure to welcome foreign minister john baird here to this department. he was one of the first calls i made after i officially came into the building and started and was sworn in, and he is my first guest as foreign minister. i hope everybody understands this is meant to underscore the strength of the relationship we have, and we are grateful for it. we do not agree on the toughest issues. we begin with hockey. i played a little bit, and since i am a bruins fan, we have clashed in many ways. he, from ottawa, is a fan of the senators, and i want you to know it is the first time i ever heard anyone talk well of senators. [laughter] i am grateful for it.

today was the first of what i know will be many very productive sessions, and the reason for that is that canada and the united states share the same values. we have a history and heritage of our people that is unbelievably connected. we have the same entrepreneurial spirit. we have the same core beliefs that everybody ought to be able to find their place in life to do better. we also share something else that is important -- $1 trillion of a bilateral trade relationship. that is hugely important to both of our countries, to our economies, and to our citizens. canada is one of the largest, most comprehensive investment relationships we have in the world that supports millions of jobs in the united states, and today the foreign minister and i agreed to try to discuss ways

that we can grow that and even make it stronger, and there are ways to do that. our border with canada happily is not a barrier. it is really a 5000-mile-long connection between us, and it is a central part of the daily pulse of our relationship. today we talked about progress beyond our border, and an initiative in which prime minister harper and president obama announced last year, and we are improving our cooperation now in keeping our nation secure against threats without unnecessary burdens at the border to the degree we can facilitate. we want to do that. we talked about our dynamic energy relationship. canada is the largest foreign energy supplier for the united states of america, and many people in america are not aware of that.

many people think of the mideast and other parts of the world. canada is our largest supplier, and our shared network of electrical grids keep energy flowing both ways across the border. as we move forward to meet the needs of a secure, clean energy future on the shared continent, we will continue to build on our foundation of cooperation. our neighbor to the north is also one of our most able, global partners. on issue after issue, whether cooperation with nato, to promote security, stability around the world, or our efforts to mitigate climate change to international climate negotiations, the major economies forum, the climate and clean air coalition, all our joint work to advance human rights to the osce and the organization of american states,

in every one of these efforts, canada and united states are united for progress. we also discussed our common efforts on iran. the p5 plus 1 partners are unified, and we're committed to preventing iran from securing a nuclear weapon. we will continue our dual-track policy of both pressure and engagement. i want to underscore to iran -- the window for diplomacy is still open, and we have agreed to meet iran again in two weeks in kazakhstan. we have made our position clear. the choice is really ultimately up to iran. the international community is ready to respond if iran comes prepared to talk real substance

and to address the concerns which could not be more clear about their nuclear program. if they do not, then they will choose to leave themselves more isolated. that is their choice. i would like to thank the foreign minister for canada's leadership on all the global challenges we face together in conflict zones like syria and mali. canada has stepped up, and canada is helping our humanitarian response. in our own hemisphere, canada is a strong advocate for strengthening democracy and the rule of law throughout central america, the caribbean, and i look forward to working with the minister as a partner on regional issues that affect the americas, including later this year when we will meet with the foreign minister of mexico to decide ways as to how all of north america, which we talked about, can actually work

effectively together. with all the issues on a crowded agenda, i am pleased to be able to say that canada and the united states stand shoulder to shoulder and work together as partners, as allies, and as trusted friends. and i look forward to our cooperation, mr. baird. thank you for making me your first visit today. i appreciate it, and i look forward to discovering innovative new ways in which we can do even more and do better. thank you. >> thank you. thank you very much, mr. secretary, a great privilege and honor to be your first foreign minister to visit you here at the state department. thank you for the priority and the confidence you place in the relationship with canada. that is tremendously important. the united states has been

phenomenal friend, and i think that leaders in the governments have accomplished a great deal. obviously for us, the number one priority continues to be job creation, economic growth, and i appreciate the opportunity to talk about a wide range of issues that we seek to tackle, to help encourage job creation and economic growth on both sides of the border. the detroit river international crossing is a priority for canada, and we have been pleased with cooperation we have received in washington and in lansing, michigan, and we look forward to getting this huge job-creation initiative moving forward in the months and years ahead. we had a good discussion and exchange on energy policy. the keystone xl pipeline is a huge priority for our government and for the canadian economy, and i appreciated the dialogue we had. president obama and prime

minister harper both assumed a 17% reduction in emissions as part of the copenhagen accord, and that continues to be a priority with canada and our plan to phase out coal-generated electricity generation. i appreciated the opportunity to discuss other issues involving security. i share canada shares the huge concern with nuclear iran perspective. we need that to get beyond iran's support of terrorism, their human rights record, and the threat of a nuclear iran is the biggest threat to peace and security, and i appreciated your strong comments on this. i share the view that a diplomatic solution is

possible. we support the p5 plus one initiative. we support sanctions against the iranian regime. we want them to change course and rejoin the international community. we support sanctions against the iranian regime. we want them to change course and rejoin the international community. we had a good discussion as well with respect to syria, and i think concern of all of civilized humanity, with the horrors going on and the huge challenge and problem of chemical weapons. i appreciate the chance to talk about human rights and our strong commitment to working to support and defend freedom around the world. the fight against international terrorism is the great struggle of our generation, and we are strong and solid partners with the united states.

[speaking in french] thank you again for your time and your leadership. >> thank you, sir. [indiscernible] >> we will start with cnn, thank you. the vast majority of top security officials in the previous administration supported the syrian rebels. were you briefed about this plan when you were in the senate, and what do you think about the plan? do you think is time to start

arming the rebels? what do you think of the mixed messages coming from iran, the foreign minister, where the president has said he would be open to talks with iran? the foreign minister had some nice things to say about you, but the supreme leader said direct talks are not possible. do you think there are prospects for a deal, and do you have a plan to move this forward? >> that was three questions. >> 1 plus 1 does not equal 2. >> well done, i am impressed. [indiscernible] i beg your pardon? i am taking stock every day. next time i will ask you to ask half a question. let me answer that. the first part of your question, let me say that i do not know what the discussions were in the white house and who said what, and i will not go backwards. this is a new administration

now. i am a new secretary of state and we are going forward from this point. my sense right now is that everybody in the administration and people in other parts of the world are deeply distressed by the continued violence in syria. there is too much killing, too much violence, and we obviously want to find a way forward. there are serious questions about aqi, al qaeda in iraq, coming in and other violent groups on the ground. it is a very complicated and very dangerous situation. everybody understands it is a place that has chemical weapons, and we're deeply concerned about that. i would just say to you that we are evaluating. we are evaluating. we're taking a look at what steps, if any -- diplomatic --

particularly might be able to be taken in an effort to try to reduce that violence and deal with the situation. when we are prepared to tell you, you will be the first to know. we will let you know. we will evaluate this as we go forward. i knew the foreign minister and i talked about this at length, at length, and we both share a deep concern about what is happening there. i am going to focus on it quite considerably. on iran, we are deeply concerned about the arms that went into yemen. i think the yemenis need to speak to that first, before we do, but i want to emphasize the

announcement the iranians themselves have made in a letter to the iaea in which they have announced a different kind of centrifuge. it is concerning. it is disturbing. my plea to the iranians -- or my statement -- is a clear statement. we are prepared to let diplomacy be the victor in this confrontation over their nuclear program. the president has made it clear that iran is prepared to talk about a peaceful nuclear program. iran has a choice. they have to prove to the world that it is peaceful, and we are prepared to sit reasonably and negotiate how they can do that and how we can all be satisfied

with respect to the united nations requirements in the effort to do that. or they can choose to be more isolated, as i said earlier. it is really their choice, not ours, as to which way they want to go. the administration, the president has made it clear that his preference is to have a diplomatic solution, but if he cannot get there, he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to make certain that iran does not have a nuclear weapon. >> hi, there. congratulations, senator kerry, and welcome. one have question -- keystone. president obama made a point of emphasizing the need to confront climate change. does that bode badly for keystone? and a quick one about concerns

over obligations that canadians have been involved in the last couple of recent terror attacks. >> with respect to the keystone, secretary clinton has put in place a very open and transparent process, which i am committed to seeing through. i can guarantee you that it will be fair and transparent, accountable, and we hope that we will be able to be in a position to make an announcement in the near term. i do not want to pin down precisely when, but i assure you, in the near term. i will not go into the merits of it here today. i take great respect, as i did in my comments earlier, to the important energy relationship with canada and the importance of the overall relationship, but we have a legitimate process

that is underway, and i intend to honor that. >> we had a good discussion with respect to keystone. we appreciated the secretary's comments at his confirmation hearings. we spoke about making decisions based on science and based on fact. obviously, when it comes to the environment, i think we have like-minded objectives. mr. harper and mr. obama have both set a 7% reduction in emissions. we have worked together on reducing emissions in cars and trucks. canada is aggressively moving forward on our plan to ban and phase out dirty coal-fired electricity, and i think we all share the need for a growing economy to create jobs. we share the desire on energy security in north america, and we also share the objective of protecting our environment for future generations, and those will be areas where we will continue to work together.

[speaking in french] merci. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very, very much. we appreciate it. >> appreciate it. thank you.

>> birds lady helen taft on discussing politics. >> i had always had the satisfaction of knowing almost as much as the about the politics and intricacies of any situation. >> i became familiar with more than politics. it involved real statesmanship. >> helen taft, whose husband, william howard taft, was the only men to serve as president and supreme court justice. the public and private lives, interest, and their influence on the president. season one begins presidents' day, february 18 at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. >> if someone paid you to write 10 columns for to thousand

dollars each, and you send the men and gets the money, and they publish only six, he summoned the editor and said i wrote 10 and published only six. what did the editors say in response? but we paid you, which is the standard answer. maybe the columns were not good enough. here is a check for the columns you did not print, $1,000 back. then we asked, why would you give the money back? that was his business lesson, because he wanted to do business with the other party again. he wanted to be a good citizen. i admired that. >> amity shlaes, sunday night at 8:00 on "q&a". the defense department held a

farewell ceremony for outgoing defense secretary leon panetta, with remarks by general martin dempsey, president obama, and mr. panetta. he said he will officially step down once the senate confirms a new defense secretary. the president has nominated former senator chuck hagel. this is just under an hour. ♪ [applause]

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ladies and gentlemen, general dempsey. [applause] >> mr. president, secretary and mrs. panetta, ambassadors, members of congress, men and

women of the armed forces of the united states, especially our wounded warriors, and we cannot forget bravo. i was hoping bravo would be out there for the inspection of troops, but apparently jeremy thought differently. it is an honor to be here for this event. we're here to show our profound respect and thanks to secretary panetta. i recall play "the tempest," which is a nice metaphor, and i like to think of you as the prospero of public service. the secretary has used his arts to imbue a sense of public service in generations of the men and women. and like that knowledgeable duke, he now asks us to let our indulgences set him free. secretary panetta could not have served so well at the fatefully without the untiring

support of his wife, sylvia, and his family. [applause] and so we thank you for your selfless service that have made your husband's contributions possible. [applause] it is clear secretary panetta has mastered the balance of service and self. last week a clip of you was played on nbc's "meet the press" of you from 1989, and you have barely changed. i am sure your mediterranean diet has helped, olive oil for your skin, garlic for your heart, and red wine for everything else. you speak often of your italian heritage, and it is no secret you mother wanted you to be a concert pianist. so is fitting on this day in history in 1908 sergei

rachmaninoff premiered his symphony number two in st. petersburg, russia. rachmaninoff was a technical pianist. history records he rarely missed a note despite the enormous complexity of his compositions. but you chose to use your hands to orchestrate other kinds of efforts. you worked both ends of pennsylvania avenue. you and sylvia advocated for the purity of public service. then the nation called again and you answered again. so for the past four years you have led those in the intelligence and defense communities, those trusted with protecting our nation and our families. you have led the fight for the proper amount of resources. you balanced the threat of external attack with the threat of internal insolvency. you once said diversity in america is as old as this nation itself. you did more than just speak

about it. you took action. you have insured our forces will be able to draw upon the very best this nation has to offer. you have overseen the fielding of new capabilities to meet the threats of tomorrow, and you have demonstrated that steadfast commitment to families and troops wherever they are in the world. your many trips to afghanistan dedicate that only too well. tonight when i depart for the winter snows of kabul, i will carry your support to those troops and i will think about you and the potential that at some point in the future you will enjoy that warm california sun. i have been thinking a lot about what you will do about after you give up your public surface. you talked about wanting to write a book. it could be a tom clancy novel. here is some advice -- get it

cleared first. i can only imagine that you might be influenced by fellow changeless monterey notable john steinbeck. he described in detail the life of immigrants, farm workers in california. in the little time i have had in the last few days, i have thought of alternative titles for your parable about the individual and the institution. so here goes. instead of "east of eden," one could be "east of the potomac." or instead of "the grapes of wrath," i would humbly suggest "the nuts of taedium." you will recall that "taedium" is latin for "boredom." you could convert one of those bestsellers into a movie. i hear james gandolfini is available to play you again as he did. was soprano's character pauli walnuts.

while gandolfini had to wear a wig, he captured your service. for those five decades you have never yielded to cynicism, you have always believed in the goodness of governing well. your character and competence have set the example. in 2009 you told the graduating class of the university of maryland to go forward knowing you are greater than the challenges of your time. you have made our nation safer. you have made our men in uniform and women stronger. and you have prepared us to meet the challenges ahead in our time and in the future. for that, you have earned our eternal esteem. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce our commander in chief, president

barack obama. [applause] >> thank you. please be seated. in the years between the world wars, a young married couple in italy packed up what few belongings that they had and boarded a boat for a new world. they passed under the statute of liberty, and went through the lines of ellis island. carmelo and cramelina panetta had no money and spoke little english. but they had a dream of a better life.

they worked hard. they went west to california. they started a family and taught their sons that if they studied and worked, if they gave back to this country, that they too could share in the american dream, so today we pay tribute to their son, leon panetta, a man who has not simply lived up to the american dream, but has helped to protect it for all of us. leon, our presence here today, members of congress, deputy secretary carter, general dempsy, and members of the joint chiefs, service secretaries, and the men and women of the greatest military that the world has ever known, all this is a reflection of our personal appreciation to you and the gratitude of a nation that

you have helped keep strong and free. by the time i came into office, leon panetta and was regarded as one of our finest public servants, with an extraordinary career across more than four decades. he and sylvia have settled into the good life. their beautiful monterey, their beloved walnut farm, and leon will deny it, but i hear he was growing restless, he wanted less time on the tractor, more time in the office, less time in california, more time in washington, interacting with the west wing and members of congress. who wouldn't? [laughter] so we gave him his wish. leon, i will always be grateful that you agreed to return to public service, and, sylvia, i am so grateful that you put up

with him. your leadership of the cia will forever be remembered for the blows that we struck against al qaeda and perhaps the greatest intelligence success in american history, delivering justice to osama bin laden. [applause] by then, leon had every right to expect that he could return home, and i admit that when we first asked him to lead the pentagon, his answer was simple -- no. but i kept asking him. i am persistent. that is how michelle married me. i just kept at it, and it is a testament to his patriotism, to his sense of duty that leon agreed to serve on this one last tour.

perhaps it was the memory of his parents opening their homes up to g.i.'s headed to the pacific. perhaps it was leon, who served himself, a young lieutenant in the army. perhaps it was the experience of watching his youngest son deployed to afghanistan. what we do know is this -- as our nation's's 23rd secretary of defense, in every action leon panetta has taken, every decision he has made has been with one goal in mind -- taking care of our sons and our daughters in uniform and keeping america safe. just think of the progress under his watch. because we ended the war in iraq, winding down the war in afghanistan, our troops are coming home, and next year our

war in afghanistan will come to an end. we have put the core of al qaeda on the path to defeat. we have been relentless against its affiliates. because we have a sacred obligation to our troops to take care of them like they have taken care of us, we are improving treatment of warriors, setting up support of families, and helping our newest veterans transition to civilian life, and that includes jobs our veterans need as we do nation- building at home. because we believe in opportunity for all americans, the tenure of secretary leon panetta, the son of immigrants, a first-generation american, will be remembered for historic progress in welcoming more of our fellow citizens to military service, for the formal and final repeal of don't ask don't tell, for opening combat roles to our

incredible women in uniform. in short, for making our military and our nation that much stronger. because we forged a new defense strategy, we will be better prepared for the future, better prepared to meet the threats that we face without a larger military footprint, better prepared against cyber attacks, better prepared to advance our interests in the asia-pacific region, and after more than a decade of war, better prepared for the broadest range of contingencies. keeping us prepared will be the mission of my nominee to be the next secretary of defense, a combat veteran with the experience, judgment, and vision our troops deserve, chuck hagel. and since we are now just weeks away from the automatic cuts to federal spending, including

defense, let me say this -- there is no reason, no reason for that to happen, putting our fiscal house in order calls for a balanced approach, not massive indiscriminate cuts that could have a severe impact on our military preparedness. so here today, for the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of all these men and women in uniform, and all their brothers and sisters in uniform that they represent, now is the time to act, for democrats and republicans to come together in the same spirit that leon panetta always brought to public service -- solving problems, not trying to score points, doing right for the country, not for any particular political agenda, sustaining our economic recovery, balancing budgets. leon knows something about it, but also maintaining the finest military in history.

leon, this too will be part of your legacy, for no one has raised their voice as firmly or as forcefully on behalf of our troops as you have. you have served with integrity and decency and grace. you are a reminder of what public service ought to be. you have led with heart and you have led with humor. indeed, they say that you have never seen our wounded warriors smile as wide or heard them laugh as loud as when they get a visit from their secretary of defense. whatever the challenge, leon, you always give it to us straight, sometimes in words that cannot be repeated in public. [laughter] today, we want to make sure to thank sylvia and the entire

panetta family for sharing their husband, their father, and their grandfather with the rest of us, for sharing bravo, the first dog of the pentagon. sylvia, leon's service has been your sacrifice, and we promise this time he really is coming home. leon, from your first day in uniform until today, your dedicated service to america has spanned nearly 50 remarkable years. as you review these fine troops one last time, as you return home and walk on your farm, know that the grand arc of your life speaks to our larger american story, where you can say with confidence and pride that you have fulfilled the hopes that brought carmelo and cramelina panetta to these shores all those years ago. you made them proud. you have helped keep alive the american dream, for not only your children and

grandchildren, but for all our children and grandchildren, and for that we will be truly grateful. leon, as your parents would say, grazie. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. ladies and gentlemen, our secretary of defense, leon panetta. [applause] >> thank you very much.

mr. president, i am deeply touched by your moving words, about me, about my family, more importantly about the men and women who serve in the department of defense. all of us are truly honored by your presence, and i thank you. let me also take this moment to thank michelle and jill biden for the outstanding work they have done in leading the joining forces initiative, which has provided great support for military families who have done so much for us. marty dempsey, i appreciate your kind remarks. marty and i have testified

before congress. it was the 11th time yesterday that we have done that. and we have also done 10 press conferences together. we are developing a very convincing case for collecting hazard pay in these jobs. [laughter] as we used to say when i was in the army, there is not anyone i would rather be in the foxhole with than marty dempsey. i cannot tell you what a privilege it has been to work with you and to work with all of the service chiefs. we have dealt with some very tough issues, and there is no way, no way that i could have done this job without your support, without your loyalty, and without your dedication. members of congress, leaders of the administration, leaders of

the department of defense, distinguished guests, many dear friends who we have known over the years, sylvia and i are very thankful to all of you for coming here today. this is without question the fanciest sendoff i have ever gotten in washington. [laughter] let me remember the words of president harry truman, who once said, "if you want a friend in washington, get a dog." and that is just what i did. and i am grateful that bravo is here today. bravo was in all of the meetings when we planned the bin laden operation, and he also sat in in many sensitive meetings and discussions i had in the

pentagon. i want you to know that he has never told a soul what he heard. [laughter] he is definitely not a a leaker -- at least according to that definition of the word. [laughter] you have heard of the movie "zero dark 30." the producer is considering a sequel called "zero bark 30." it has been 50 years of public service, and i will and always cherish the deep and lasting friendships that i have made in washington. and i am extremely grateful that so many of those friends could be here this afternoon.

i have spent a long time in this town. as the son of immigrants, as the president pointed out, i have truly lived the american dream. being an italian-american, in congress, at senior levels in the executive branch, it has been for me a very unique experience. i have never lost my awe by the sight of the capitol and the white house at night. it is still a very special experience. i remember when i was first elected to the house of representatives, there was a member that the president may recall by the name of frank, from chicago, who came up to me and said, "panetta.

that is an italian." i said, "yes, it is." he said, "good." he said, "i want you to join the italian caucus." of course, i was not going to say no to an italian from chicago. [laughter] he said, "great." he said, "we don't do much on issues, but we eat good." [laughter] and that was true. many years later, when i came to langley as president obama's director of central intelligence, i got a mug from my family with a big cia, standing for "california italian-american." in all seriousness, mr. president, i want to express my deepest thanks to you for the opportunity to serve this country again as a member of your administration. it has been a tremendous honor

and privilege these past four years, and especially now as the 23rd secretary of defense. i hope that in some small way i have helped to fulfil the dream of my parents, the dream that they wanted, and a dream that all of us want, of giving our children a better life. it has been for me a hell of a ride. i will never forget the pride and exhilaration when i walked out of the white house after the president announced the success of the bin laden operation, and i could hear the chants of those people who were gathered around the white house and in lafayette park yelling, "usa! usa!"

thank you, mr. president, for your strong support in what was a very tough decision. the memory of that operation and the team that helped put it together, both the intelligence team and the military team, will be with me forever. i will remember traveling to combat theaters and bases around the world, looking into the eyes of brave men and women who are putting their lives on the line every day for this country. i will remember the moments when we have honored veterans of past wars and when we have been inspired by service members and wounded warriors returning from today's wars. and i will always remember the

moments of grief, when it this nation has rendered final honors to fallen heroes and when we have had to comfort their families. writing notes and condolences to those families who have lost loved ones has been for me my toughest job. these moments of selflessness, these moments of sacrifice, of courage, of heroism give me a renewed sense of pride in our country and gives me a sense of optimism for the future. i have witnessed a new generation of americans ask themselves what they could do for their country. and i have seen a profound difference that talented men and women with a sense of duty and

sacrifice can make in the life of this nation and in the life of our world. for more than a decade of war, our democracy was dependent on the men and women of the united states military to bear the awesome burden and to preserve our freedom. they have done everything the nation asked them to do and more, and i will have no greater honor in my life than to have been able to lead them as secretary of defense. i learned a long time ago that there is not much you can accomplish in washington on your own. you need a team behind you. and at the department of defense, i have been blessed with an exceptional team, from senior civilian and military leaders all the way down

through the chain of command, and together i am proud of the important achievements we have been able to accomplish for the nation. we developed and we have begun implementing a new defense strategy for the 21st century, which protects the strongest military power in the world and meets our responsibility to fiscal discipline. we are bringing, as the president said, more than a decade of war to a responsible end, ending the war in iraq, giving the iraqi people a chance to secure and govern themselves, and in afghanistan, our campaign is well on track to completing that mission. we are committed to an enduring relationship with the afghan people so they too can govern and secure themselves in the future. we have kept pressure on al qaeda and are going after extremists wherever they may hide. and we have shown the world, we

have shown the world that nobody attacks united states of america and gets away with it. [applause] we are keeping faith, keeping faith with and caring for our returning veterans and wounded warriors. i am particularly proud that we have expanded opportunities for everyone to serve and our military, in a democracy, and in a democracy, everybody should be given a chance to meet the qualifications needed to serve this country. it is a basic value that we fight to protect. despite the progress we have made together, there's no question that there remain some

very significant challenges, dangerous instabilities abroad, budget constraints, political gridlock here at home, but one thing i have learned is that you cannot -- you cannot be involved in public service and not be optimistic about the future. i am confident that under the leadership of the president and the leaders of the congress that we can and must stay on the right path to build the military force we need for the 21st century. winston churchill once wrote, "the future is unknowable, but the past should give us hope." this is a time of uncertainty, but my career in public service gives me hope that the leaders of this nation will come together to resolve the

challenges facing this country and to seize the opportunities for the 21st century. we have overcome wars, we have overcome disasters, we have overcome economic depressions and recessions, we have overcome crises of every kind throughout the history of our country, and throughout our history, the fighting spirit of our fellow americans has made clear that we never, never, never give up. our forefathers, pioneers, the immigrant families that came here all fought together to give our children that better life. we cannot fail to do the same. none of us in public service, none of us in public service could carry on that fight

without the love and support of our families. everything i have been able to accomplish in my life, in my life, life and life together, has been because of the support of my family -- my immigrant parents, my family, my sons, their families, but most of all sylvia. we have been married 50 years. she has endured extended absences and long hours that come with public service. but she has always been there, and i will never be able to thank her enough for her constant love and support. her valentine gift is both of us going home together. [applause]

it has been the honor of my life to have served in the position of secretary of defense, and wherever i go, whatever i do, i will thank god every day for the men and women in this country who are willing to put their lives on the line for all of us. they have responded to the call of the bugle, with courage and with selfless dedication to the country. my prayer as i leave is that we all have the same courage and dedication to protecting our nation, the united states of america, the home of the free and the brave. god bless america, god bless you, and god bless the men and women in the department of

defense. [applause]

>> armed guard, pass review. forward march. right shoulder arms. forward march. ♪

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[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the departure.

[applause] >> coming up next on c-span senator ben cardin talks to employees at the national institute of health. then we talk to the general of the program, christy romero. then bill clinton talks to a house of democrats. on the next "washington journal" a look at the automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect on march 1, half are from the pentagon. we'll discuss that with ray lock

perp and a conversation with the use of legal force. then we'll talk with judith about the 20th answer verse of the medical leave act. "washington journal" live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> having observed a steady improvement and thing with being of our citizens, i can report to you that our union is good. >> once again and keeping with time honored tradition on the state of the union and i'm pleased to report that america is much improved. there is good reason that the improvement will continue. >> my duty tonight is to report

on the state of the union. not the state of your government but of our american community and to set forth our responsibilities in the words of our founders to form a more perfect union. the state of the union is strong. >> as we gather tonight our nation is at war, our country is in recession and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers, yet the state of our union has never been stronger. >> it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward. and the state of our union is strong. >> tuesday, president obama delivers this year's address live on c-span the president will speak at 9:00 follow bid the g.o.p. response and your reaction. that is tuesday night on c-span.

>> maryland senator ben cardin spoke to workers in maryland today. he talks about sequester budget cuts set to take effect on march 1. the n.i.h. budget would be cut. this is an hour. >> good morning. >> that was a nice response. >> it's wonderful to see you here this morning at the national institute of health where we have the great fortune to have was united states senator ben cardin. welcome to all of you and those who are watching over the web. i want to say a few words about

the senator and he is going to address you and we will have time for questions and answers. and we have ways to receive those for people who are here and over the internet. and we will make sure to respond to all directions from which those questions may come. >> for those of you with who live in maryland and about three quarters of the people who work at n.i.h. have that residence, this is your senator. he is become a national leader on retirement, security, the environment, homeland security, minority health and health disparities and he is been a consist president supporter of the national institute of health and our mission and the work we do. he was elected to the senate in 2006 where he currently serves on the finances, public relations and business committees.

he serves as co-chair on the security commission in europe. prior to this he represented mary mayor's third congressional district in the house of representatives. and before that in the maryland house of delegates where he served from 1967 to 1978. he was speaker. >> he is a champion for medical research support for maryland's world class university hopkins university of maryland and several others. and he is a strong supporter of our state's biotech industry which is not located here by chance. he's also been i think a strong supporter throughout all of this as the importance of looking for

curious for many diseases and protect our citizens from bioattacks. >> he's been here in a town meeting. we arrive here today at a particularly interesting moment given this is the month of february and there is a threat which i'm sure he will talk about of something called the sequester which might strike us by march 1 if nothing happens. current estimates being that would reduce the n.i.h. budget for 2013 by $1.6 billion, already well into the fiscal year this would be a severely stressful situation. i know all of you here who believe in the mission come this morning hoping to hear words of encouragement about ways in which our enterprise can move forward in this time of uncertainty. i know he is a strong supporter of a good outcome here so we're happy to have him come this morning to tell us something

about that and to encourage all of you who are working hard as supporters of this enterprise, as public servants who believe in what you are doing and to tell that you this morning. so please welcome senator ben cardin. [applause] [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for your extraordinary leadership on behalf of n.i.h. it really is a pleasure to be here. dr. collins pointed out that along with senator i have the great honor of representing the state that headquarters n.i.h. and it is a great world class institution, no question about it. we not only have the world class research facility at n.i.h., but

we have the world champion baltimore ravens. [applause] we collected on the bet yesterday so we're in good spirits. i haven't finished all the wine that was sent to us from california yet so i might indulge a little bit over the weekend. but we had to endure the california crabs which are not as good as our crabs here in maryland. it was a sweet moment and we thank you for that. it's a pleasure to be here. joan is here representing chris part of our congressional team. we thank chris for everything he does as the leader in the united states house of representatives on budget issues there is no stronger advocate for n.i.h. than chris.

my colleague in the senate, barbara mcculski who is taking on a new responsibility as the chair of the senate appropriations committee. i tell you that's going to be good for this country because she's a real champion of responsible budgeting. but it's going to be good for maryland to have the chairman of the appropriations committee. >> i want to acknowledge john walker on behalf of the work force, thank you for being here. my main purpose for being here is to have a town hall meeting to allow you to ask questions. now i have been here for ribbon cuttings and ground breakings and very happy occasions. they are nice. today i'm here as we start february just a few weeks away from march 1, which will bring about sequestration automatic

across the board cuts that will effect the work that you do. and i want to be here to answer your questions. we are only a few weeks away from the end of the continuing resolution and it's not clear what the end of march will bring for the legal operation for you to be able to spend money. that's something we need to talk about. so i want to be here to try to answer your questions as your united states senator by first start by thanking you for what have you done and what you continue to do for our country and for our world. what you do here is world class. there is no comparable facility anywhere in the world. what you do is the best in the world. and yes, i can talk about the economic impact that you have on our community in life sciences

there are 6 million jobs, good paying jobs that depend upon the basic research that is generated from what you do here. that is critically important, the number of jobs that we have. the impact you have on maryland and our employment. and i thank you for that. but what i think is critically important is how you've changed the way of life, the quality of life for people around the world. i had a chance to meet one of those individuals just a few minutes ago. the work that dr. reenhand does on renal cancer. that is just one face of a person who would not bes with us today, who wouldn't have survived but for what was done here at n.i.h. and that story has been told thousands if not millions of times over.

when i was a youngster i had a cousin who was diagnosed with a disease and decide shortly after. i later found out it was cancer. we didn't talk about that when i was young. cancer was a death sentence when i was a young person. have you changed that here at n.i.h. the work that's been done here has given hope to so many families and have cured so many diseases. i think about the progress we've made in heart disease. when i was young if you had a heart disease, it changed your life forever. you have changed thelandscape on understanding our heart and how we can live healthy lives. you've changed the landscape on hiv/aids. it was a death sentence, no longer, thanks to the work that's been done here at n.i.h.

you've helped us understand mental illness and changed the landscape on mental illness. so many different areas that you have led have changed what we know about diseases and how we can improve the quality of life. so i first come here to say thank you. thank you for what you have done. i know congress has a strange way of saying thank you. but i am sincere. you are the front lines of service to not only our country but i think to our world and i very much appreciate that. so let us move forward to the problems we are having. we have a budget problem in our country today. we have budget deficits that are not sustainable and how are we going to deal with the budget

deficits? that's the issue before the congress that we are dealing with. we dealt with it this week. we had president obama who visited with the democratic members of the united states senate in annapolis and it was the issue we talked about the most. how are we going to deal with our budget deficit? i could talk about how we got here, the policies that led to these deficits but i'm not going to harp than because we have to figure out how we're going to move forward. i will emphasize one point. this deficit was not caused by our federal work force. you are not responsible for their deficit. [applause] >> we could talk about the policies of going to war and how we pay for it, etc. but we have these large deficits and we need to deal wit. let me bring you up to date because the last time i was here was a little over a year ago and

we were talking about the budget control act and how we had to deal with this deficit and how we were going to bring down discretionary domestic spending and how we were going to deal with longer term solution that is required to us deal with revenues and mandatory spending and i ask your understanding as we pass the budget control act. and at the we were analyzing a recommendation that came out of a presidential commission known as the boles simpson commission. that commission said we had to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion or $5 trillion to have sustainable growth in our country. take a minute and look at the progress that we've made since that last visit. simpson bowles which was

generally recognized as a balanced approach, a bipartisan approach to deal with our deficit asked to us reduce the projected deficit by 4 trillion to 5 trillion, we have 60% coming from spending cuts, 40% coming from revenues approximately. since that time, we passed the budget control act that brought the deficit down by almost 1.5 trillion over ten years. almost all of those savings were on the discretionary domestic side. we froze budgets, as you know. you know that firsthand with your pay freezes. we did that and we were able to achieve through these budget caps about 1.5 trillion of savings. then on december 31, it

may have been january 1, because it may have been after new year's. congress passed the compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff and that contained almost yours truly $trillion of deficit cuts and most of that was true additional revenues by establishing the permanent tax rate at 39.6% of wealthiest people and permanent tax relief for middle class taxpayers. we are up to around $2.5 trillion of deficit reduction since we last talked. now we are getting to march 1. and march 1, if we do not act, sequestration will take effect. these are across the board cuts. these were never intended to take effect. they were intended to get

congress to act on a long-term budget plan, that was the intent of it. but we're at the day of judgment, march 1. and they will take effect to our national defense budget as well as our domestic budget. the cuts are actually larger on the military side. and if they take effect on march 1, if they take effect, they will cause significant damage to our country, to our national security redness, to our commitment to provide essential services to the people of this country and to our economy. let me talk a little bit about the number of jobs. there are different numbers out . there we have that it would effect the cuts here at n.i.h. alone when you look at the direct jobs and the indirect jobs could cost our economy as much as 100,000 jobs.

we've looked at the impact on our federal work force. maryland has almost 6% of its total work force are federal employees, well above the national average of 2.2%. so it will have a real impact on the state i represent, more so than other states. but then there are federal contractors who will be negatively impacted with layoffs hurting our economy. so we've got to avoid sequestration. that's another 1.2 trillion more in cuts. we need to substitute a rational plan for these ir rational cuts. that's what we need to do. let me tell you what we are working on and what we're going to try to do. we're going to try to substitute for sequestration a plan that gets sequestration off the table

not for two months or one year or two years, but for ten years. we shouldn't have these types of cuts in discretionary spending. we've already done. that look at the numbers. look what i told you originally about the simpson bowles framework. we've hit those numbers on the discretionary side. what we need to do is substitute a budget that makes sense for growth in this country so we can create the jobs, train our people, do the research, protect our people, do what is necessary but allow for economic growth and responsible budgeting. so how do you do that? i believe you will see budgets that we will be submitting that president obama will be submitting that will say that we will do three things to continue this deficit reduction. we've already done over half but we need to do more.

we need more revenue. historically revenue is represented about 19% to 20% of our economy. when bill clinton was president and we balanced the federal budget it was close to 20%. revenues today are less than 16% of our economy. we need additional revenues. and we have suggested that there are ways of doing this by looking at what we call the tax expenditures. these are provisions in the tax code that give tax breaks to certain groups of taxpayers but not all taxpayers. you might be surprised to learn when you add that up on an annual basis it equals about as much revenue as we bring in from the tax code. that $1. trillion a year we spend in tax expenditures.

not all of those are necessary. like not all spending is necessary, not all tax expenditures are necessary. we can certainly save over a ten-year period a couple hundred billion dollars by reducing these tax expenditures. that needs to be part of the equation, revenue. we also need to bring down mandatory spending. it represents -- we spend much more in mandatory spending than we do in the appropriation process in government. and you know that the anguish we go through every year on appropriations. we need to bring down our mandatory spending. the best way to do that is to bring down the cost of healthcare which would reduce not only medicaid and medicare cost, but also the cost to our

economy of healthcare. and working on those proposals. then we can save money on the military side which we have the overseas contingency operations which reflects the military operations in afghanistan which are at a high level. they are going to be reduced, we are going to have our troops out in 2014 plus in today's threat against america which is more of the terrorist type rather than another country trying to abate us we can organize our oversees operations in a more efficient way. we should be able to do enough deficit reduction without the type of cuts for our discretionary spending particularly on the domestic side. and we should do it in a way that allows to us continue to invest in what will create the jobs we need for our economy, by educating our work force and doing the basic research we

need. what is the prost prognosis of getting that done by march 1? not very bright. for the congress, for the house and the senate to reconcile their differences and get a bill to the president for signature taking care of all these issues by march 1 is not likely. it's possible. we're going to work for it, but not likely. so we will look at ways we can provide short-term relief. but i'll support that because i want to avoid sequestration. we need to get working now on the long-term substitute proposal and reconcile the differences between the house and senate and get it done. predictability is critically important for the work you do here, for researchers who commit their lives to know the funding will be here, not for two months but for a long time.

we really need to reconcile our differences and get this done. i wish i could give you clear direction on this. i wish there was a more definitive answer. gridlock never created a single job in this country. gridlock is bad for america. congress needs to act. but i tell you the debates we are having in washington are fundamental to america's future. president obama is right to insist that we're not going to solve our problems by asking spending cuts to take the full burden here, we do need revenue. he's right in his leadership on this issue. and i am hopeful that we will see a resolution of this issue sooner rather than later. i have confidence we are going to get this done. i have confidence in this country. when i come here and see the

incredible work that you do, it just energizes me and i know i speak for your federal delegation. we are going to do everything we can to make sure these sequestration orders never take effect and we have a plan that will allow the type of job growth that is important for america's future. as i said, this is a town hall meeting. i went on longer than i had planned to but i look forward to your questions in regards to the fiscal issues in washington and we also are taking up some very exciting areas. we've seen some bipartisan movement on immigration reform we are excited about. we intend to move an immigration bill shortly, probably next to the budget the most controversial issue we are dealing with deals with gun safety. and there's been movement on gun safety. i'll be happy to answer questions you have on the gun safety issue.

one of my priorities is how to move forward with the clean chesapeake bay. we have an energy issue that still is with us. there are a lot of subject that is are out. there but when you're here a few days before march 1rks the fiscal issues are the ones i wanted to bring you up to date but i'll try to answer any questions have you on any of these issues. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you senator. please come and join me on the stage and we have people in the aisles holding microphones for people with questions. >> let me start with one while people are getting their thoughts together and lining up. i think all of us who work here at n.i.h. are inspired about the scientific opportunities we have